A fishing assembly widely used for deep trolling at depths of 20 to 80 feet or more, particularly for salmon in the Pacific Northwest, comprises a flasher having one of its ends attached to a weighted trolling line and the other of its ends attached to one end of a leader having a length of 2 to 3 feet. The herring bait, spoon, plug, or other fishing lure is attached to the other end of the leader.
The flasher normally has a length of 6 to 20 inches. Its purpose is two-fold: First, to create a glitter in the water which attracts fish and, second, to impart an irregular motion to the lure which makes its movement resemble more closely the motion of a crippled herring as it moves through the water.
The conventional flashers comprise flat units of stainless steel or other highly reflective metal bent fore and aft to provide flat segments. This configuration causes the flasher to move in great loops, arcs, or zig-zag runs of substantial extent as it is drawn through the water.
It is the general purpose of the present invention to provide a flasher of the class described, but one which has a spiral configuration and accordingly spirals through the water as it is trolled behind the fishing boat. It accordingly has several advantages:
First, its reflective surface is displayed sequentially and in its entirety to the entire viewing areas as the flasher spirals through the water.
Second, it directs the attention of the fish to the lure immediately following.
Third, it does not yank the lure away from the fish whose interest has been attracted, as do the prior art flat flashers as they describe their major convolutions.
Fourth, it is sensitive in its response to the trolling speed, being effective even at very slow trolling speeds.
Fifth, in use, its action does not tend to foul the line.
Sixth, it retains its effectiveness over a long service life in that it does not fatigue, but keeps its shape.
Seventh, it is easy and economical to make in a variety of configurations.
The foregoing and other objects of the present invention are achieved by the provision of a flasher which, in its broad aspect, comprises an elongated, flat strip of structural material bent or formed into a spiral configuration, having a bright, highly reflective surface. The spiral may be either a continuous spiral, or one formed by a plurality of integral flat segments bent angularly into a spiral configuration.
First attaching means are present on the forward end of the flasher for attachment to a fishing line, usually through a swivel. Second attaching means are present on the rearward end of the flasher for attachment to the leader which trails the lure, also usually through a swivel.
A weight of predetermined value is attached to the fishing line for submerging the assembly to the desired depth.
As a result, as the assembly is drawn through the water, the flasher is driven in a spiral rotation which is attractive to fish, and directs them to the trailed bait.